Curse of the In-laws
by Viral020
Summary: It's Lucina's wedding day, but Chrom has doubts about his new son in One of them being his bloodthirsty father. Chrom is about to find out that In-laws are a curse. One-shot *Possible collection if I ever get around to it*


Chrom paced back and forth in the empty hallway. He hadn't had time to prepare for this day. He hadn't had time to prepare for any of this. No man should ever have to feel the pain of what he was being forced through. This entire situation was pure madness. He stopped in front of the door that had been the object of what little focus he had. Sighing, he listened to the odd mixtures of laughing, weeping and shouts of excitement.

He didn't want to express his worries, not today of all days. This should be the day that he became the proudest father in the world, yet he was wrought with worry. He hadn't had time to prepare for this day. He thought he would have many more years to prepare, he always thought he would deal with many more situations before this one. He never thought simply walking with his daughter would be so difficult.

Pressing his ear to the door, he could hear the voices of many women rushing to and from, hurrying to prepare for the day.

"Lucy, put that down. You shouldn't be running with that." Chrom smiled as he listened to Robin, his wife and the love of his life, chase after their five year old daughter, Lucina. Everyone began calling the young princess Lucy when the older Lucina from the future stayed with her family. "What are you doing, Lucy? Wow, those ribbons are… colorful."

"Uh huh. I'm making the dress so pretty for Lucina." Chrom smiled at his daughter's antics. Although she was much more cheerful than Lucina could ever remember being, she was the same girl inside, including the… interesting fashion sense.

Chrom heard a happy little sigh from a woman, although it was difficult to know who. "I'm sure that Lucina would love the ribbons, but you know what might be better? How about we put them on you?"

"EEEEK!"

Chrom backed away from the door, ears ringing. A little girl's shriek would never be something that he could get used to. He began thinking of the dress his youngest was decorating. Ignoring the addition of the ribbons, the dress was pure white with a floral pattern weaving around the skirt. Sleek and beautiful, it broke his heart to think that he would see the day his daughter wore such an elegant gown so soon. And for Inigo of all people. Chrom groaned at the fleeting thought of the philanderer. Why him of all people?

* * *

"_You're WHAT?" Chrom began choking, astonished by what he just heard. Lucina claimed to have an announcement mid-meal, and she did not disappoint. Robin was halfway through congratulating their elder daughter before turning to assist Chrom, joining Lucy and Morgan at laughing hysterically at his predicament. Glaring through his hacking coughs, Chrom practically dared his wife to continue. Doing her best to stifle her remaining giggles, Robin turned back to a blushing Lucina._

"_I'm glad you found love, we all know you need it after what you've been through." _

_Next to her, Morgan nodded in agreement, remembering the much more serious sister during the war. "You and Inigo make a wonderful couple. I didn't think that anyone could be able to make him settle down, although I like to think my little 'conversation' with him helped." Wearing a devilish grin, Morgan turned to his sister as she blushed even harder, stammering a comeback._

_Meanwhile, Chrom was trying to wrap his head around the news. My daughter is engaged? To Inigo? The philanderer? Without thinking, Chrom voiced his inner thoughts._

"_I don't think that this is a good idea."_

_The two tacticians looked at the king fazed by his doubts, obviously expecting him to be as accepting as the times he let people join the Shepherds. Lucy was looking clueless at her future self who was on the verge of tears. Lucina had believed her beloved father would accept the love she shared with the aspiring dancer._

_Seeing the kind of trouble brewing, Chrom tried to explain his apprehensions for the engagement. "You know that Inigo would never be able to completely abandon his old ways. He asked your mother on a date on multiple occasions. And there was that one time Morgan grew his hair out."_

"_Don't remind me." Chrom looked over to his son who had crossed his arms in embarrassment. Morgan's usual cheerfulness was overshadowed by Inigo's antics while his mother turned so they wouldn't see her trying to hold back more laughter. _

"_Robin, this isn't a laughing matter. This is a big decision, and I don't trust Inigo enough to let him take my daughter's hand in marriage. He just isn't a good fit for her."_

_Robin looked back to Chrom, determination setting in. "If I remember correctly, you were told not to marry the love of your life because you found her in a field with no memory of who she was. I also remember you ignored them and married her anyway."_

"_This is different. They were stuck up nobles looking to raise their status by having their daughters marry the prince. I'm a father trying to protect his daughter." Chrom crossed his arms defiantly, adamant in his decisions._

_Robin puffed her cheeks and pursed her lips, a definite sign of her frustration with her husband. "You're still telling her that she can't marry the love of her life. Maybe if you weren't so oblivious you would see how much in love your daughter is. Or maybe you don't see her as a woman capable of love like someone else at this table."_

_Chrom's blood boiled at yet another joke about his so called obliviousness. He never understood why everyone said he was clueless when it came to emotions and their insistence only made it worse. Even Frederick made a wisecrack or two on occasion. "Okay, first of all, I made it perfectly clear that I'm not blind to other people's emotions, so enough with that. As for this engagement, I don't care if I have to sleep on the throne for the rest of my life; Lucina is not going to marry Inigo."_

_By now, the normally calm tactician was riled, anger seeping out into the air around her. "Maybe you will. If you think you are going to"_

"_WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH"_

_The piercing wails of a small child interrupted Robin's threats as the two turned to Lucy, the princess in tears seeing her parents fight. Lucina took her younger self in her arms, hugging her while glaring at their parents. "That's enough from both of you. Can't you see how much Lucy hates to watch you two fight?" Lucina then turned her attention to Chrom. "Father, I told you my engagement hoping you would accept us, but I'm getting married to Inigo with or without your blessings."_

_With that, Lucina scooped Lucy into her arms and carried her off, followed by a disgusted Morgan, leaving the not so happy couple alone to sort out their differences. However, instead of staying to continue their spat, Robin stood and marched away from Chrom, who sat in silence. Burying his face in his hands, Chrom wondered when Lucina had time to pursue romantic interests._

"_Maybe I am oblivious to these things… Wait, Inigo's father is… Gods help me."_

* * *

Chrom let loose a heavy breath as he stretched his back, which was still sore from his nights on the throne. After the wedding, he planned to have Frederick find a replacement for the one he broke in his sleep, preferably one that was more comfortable. Beginning to pace once again, Chrom began reminiscing of the events after Lucina announced her engagement.

* * *

"_You do know why I asked you here, don't you Inigo?" Inigo stood in front of his future father in law, knowing exactly what kind of trouble he was in._

"_Of course, Chrom. It's about Lucina." Inigo felt his legs shake at the acknowledgement, knowing that Chrom didn't approve of him._

_Chrom smiled from his seat in the royal study. The shades had been closed and the fireplace lit, giving the room the eerie glow of impending doom. "Good… good. So you know exactly how I feel about this." Watching Inigo gulp brought another grin to his face. "Let us get straight to business then. I'm a father looking to protect is daughter from men like you. Men who think that they can woo any woman that crosses their path."_

_The philanderer tilted his head downward in shame. Muttering, he tried to make his case, "I'm not that person anymore. I love Lucina and would never do anything to hurt her."_

_Tapping his fingers on the armrest, Chrom knew exactly how the conversation would turn out. He picked up a thing or two being married to a tactician and learned to anticipate such things. "Of course you are, but I have a problem with that." Standing up and slowly walking towards Inigo, Chrom was determined to make him feel as uncomfortable as possible. "You see, it's easy to say something, but it's much more difficult to actually do it. And you have the attention span of a field mouse any time something with two legs and a skirt is within sight."_

"_Lucina is old enough… We're old enough to make our own decisions."_

_Chrom laughed at this new argument. "Of course you are I know that. It still doesn't change anything. Lucina is still the princess of Yllise and heir to the throne."_

_Inigo looked shocked at Chrom's latest statement, unable to comprehend what he implied. "This is about my status? Do you really expect Lucina to marry out of anything but love?"_

_With a wide smirk, Chrom shook his head, amused at the accusations. "No, you misunderstand. I'm glad that Lucina wants love, but I'm the king and one day, Lucina may become the queen. There are people who wish us dead, but there are also those who want us to live in pain. One way to do this is to target our loved ones." _

_The wheels in Inigo's head were turning, trying to figure out the lord's angle. Seeing this, Chrom decided to enlighten him, "I always thought that I would worry if the people my daughter decided to court would be strong enough. Strong enough to protect himself and Lucina from assassination attempts. You however, bring a different worry." Chrom glared, moving his face in front of Inigo's, inches away. "With you, all someone would have to do to hurt Lucina is to find some woman to seduce you. As her father, I will not allow her husband to betray her like that, do you understand?"_

_Inigo stood motionless, the implications of his relationship finally sinking in. His eyes were glazed over, as if his spirit had been broken. Turning around, Chrom headed back to his seat. "Despite everything, I have to trust Lucina's decision, and that means accepting you. I'll allow you to court her, but know that if you ever betray my daughter, I will not give you time to regret your actions. You're dismissed."_

_Inigo began shuffling towards the door. Chrom added one last thing before he left, "Oh, don't forget to tell your father that Lucina isn't a test subject for his work."_

_Pausing, hand shaking above the handle, he glanced back, wishing to try and convince Chrom of his love for Lucina and his faith in his parents. Deciding against it, he opened the door and left Chrom, who released a small sigh. 'In-laws really are a curse...'_

* * *

Chrom found himself in front of the door again, listening to the women inside rushing to prepare Lucina for her day. The sounds of the final preparations filled the air. Olivia's soft voice could barely be heard from behind the wooden barrier.

"You look amazing Lucina. My son is lucky you chose him."

Backing away, Chrom started down the hallway in search for something to drink. Maybe it would calm his nerves. It had been close to a year since his warnings to Inigo. Despite his reputation, he had shown time and time again that he fully intended to be loyal to Lucina, regardless of Chrom suggestions to the cuter castle staff that they loiter around Inigo once in a while. When Robin found out, Chrom had been sent back to the throne for the night.

Still, Chrom knew that there were loose ends that he would need to take care of before the day was over. Turning the corner, a smaller man with white hair ran into Chrom, falling back from the impact.

"Henry?"

The sorcerer looked up from his daze, not expecting the run in. "Oh, hey Chrom. I was just going to tell Olivia we are ready up front." Standing up and brushing himself off, Henry had an uncharacteristic moment of awkward silence. Without his trademark grin, Henry addressed the lord, "Look, I know you aren't thrilled about all this. Truth be told, neither would I if my daughter was set to wed the son of a blood thirsty, hex happy sociopath."

Chrom grimaced, better now than later to have this discussion. Henry had become a diplomat of sorts for Plegia and had been trying to sort out the political crisis with as little bloodshed as possible, keeping him away since before the engagement announcement. "So you know what I'm going to say then?"

"No curses, but I would never hurt her because it would hurt Inigo." The grin spread across Henry's face, smaller than before. "I'm sure you heard it all by now, but I'm going to give you the abridged life story of Henry. Parents left me in the woods, giant wolf friend, parents take me back, town kills giant wolf, shipped to magic school, everyone regretted that decision…" The grin morphed into a dark smile at the memory of his vengeance.

"Of course, I've heard this all before. What does this have to do with Lucina and Inigo?"

Henry snapped out of his bloodlust, realizing he lost his train of thoughts. "Umm… okay, the point… My parents were horrible and I refuse to be like them. I won't take away my son's happiness because only a real monster would do that to their child."

Guilt crept up behind Chrom, reminding him that he tried to refuse his child her future with the person she loved. Henry didn't notice as he returned to talking about his past, "Maybe if my parents didn't treat me like dirt, I wouldn't have turned out like this. Of course, then I wouldn't have saved you in Plegia and who knows where that would have gone. Nyahaha."

Walking past the lord, Henry started down the hallway before stalling. "Chrom? Inigo didn't want me to tell you, but he had me curse him."

"You cursed your own child?" After that speech about preserving his child's happiness, Chrom thought that a curse would be the last thing that would happen.

"If I didn't do it, he would have, and hitting yourself with a curse is only for the talented or the suicidal. Inigo is neither… I hope." Henry flinched at the thought, thinking that such feeling would make him no better than his parents. "The curse will kill him if he ever has feelings for a woman that isn't Lucina. He said something about not wanting to betray her."

Chrom couldn't help but smile at the lengths Inigo went to preserve his loyalty. The idea of the two starting a family began to feel more appealing to him… "He will die if he loves _any_ woman other than Lucina? What happens if they have a daughter?"

Henry opened his grinning mouth to answer before closing it, thoughtfulness taking over. "Well, rumor is that a housewife created it to kill her unfaithful husband and I don't think anyone used it like this before… I better go look at altering it before he does die." Henry hurried off to collect the ingredients for a new curse before Chrom called after him.

"That won't be necessary, Henry. He doesn't need the curse."

"Are you sure? He felt pretty strongly about it."

Chrom placed his hand on the sorcerer's shoulders, "I'm sure, but you don't have to tell Inigo if you don't want to."

Henry quickly nodded in agreement, pleased that he could satisfy his son's dangerous desires and his fatherly instincts.

Motioning back towards the way he came, Chrom led Henry to their wives and soon to be daughter-in-law. "Lucina is just about ready, we should be too."

As they entered through the doors, Chrom's eyes filled with tears upon the sight of his daughter in her dress. "Lucina… you look beautiful."

Robin snuck next to him, taking his hand in hers. Pride was written on her face, glad to see her husband accepting of their daughter in a wedding dress. Stealing a quick peck on his cheek, she let go and began ushering people out of the room. "We'll go make sure Morgan finished everything. You two can take a minute."

Smiling at the sight of Robin throwing people out, literally in Lissa's case, Chrom turned to a trembling Lucina. Before he could say anything, the bride spoke, trying to hide the tears she was holding back.

"I'm glad you like it. Does this mean…"

Chrom embraced her, whispering in her ear, "Of course, you have my blessings, and I insist I walk you down the aisle." Not wishing to ruin his daughter's time consuming appearance, Chrom released her to take her quaking hands. "Come on, Inigo will be thrilled to see you like this."

Lucina weakly smiled, conserving her energy for the emotions to come. Leading her father towards the main hall, Lucina seemed to have a new reserve of life, almost skipping the way there. In the back of his mind, Chrom couldn't help but think, _'Maybe this will be a curse I can live with.'_

* * *

I'm sorry, the mind you are trying to probe is currently going through wedding overload. Please hang up and dial again (Author's Notes):

Beep... Beep... Beep...

Ok, needed to get my head straightened out after that... so where was I? One of the things I've been wanting to do for a while now. Seriously, InigoxLucina is probably the most common non-avatar pairing for the princess but nothing I've seen really explains how Chrom feels about it. What makes it even better is the sociopath father in law. Chrom may seem ooc to some people, but I think it is fully in his intersts considering how oblivious he gernerally *whoosh* Well Chrom still isn't over the oblivious jokes I see. Dropping it. I fully intended for this to be a one shot, but it may become a series of similar stories. Feel free to post a pairing, but please, try not to use couples already used.

As always, feel free to like it or hate it, your choice, but please review the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own FE:A, the characters, or the other stuff.


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